Rory McIlroy fires back at Nick Faldo

Golf legend Nick Faldo was recently critical of Rory McIlroy, saying that he thinks the 24-year-old is spending too much time worrying about non-golf activities and not enough time on the course.

“You have a window of opportunity, that’s my only words of wisdom to Rory,” Faldo said on Monday. “You have say a 20-year window as an athlete — concentrate on golf, nothing else. Hopefully you have another 40 years to enjoy it so just concentrate on your golf.”

Faldo also said that golf is a full-time job and that McIlroy needs to focus on being on the course from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. like any other profession. On Wednesday, McIlroy fired back at Faldo.

“He said I should be at the course nine to five,” McIlroy said, via IBN Live. “I actually was on the range at 6.15 (yesterday) and got out of the gym at 6:15, a 12-hour day compared to his eight-hour day.

“Nick should know how hard this game is at times and he’s been in our position before. He should know how much work that we all put into it.”

McIlroy is struggling. There’s no question about that. He finished tied for 25th at the Masters in April, tied for 8th at The Players Championship in May and tied for 41st at the US Open last month. He has met with Nike multiple times to make adjustments to his equipment, and Faldo is not the first person to speculate that his personal life has negatively impacted his golf game.

“I know how these things go, I know he wasn’t trying to get on my case at all,” McIlroy said of Faldo. “He was just offering words of advice in some way. (But) I think he has to remember how hard this game can be at times. I think the game’s like life, you’re going to go through highs and you’re going to go through lows. It’s just about trying to work your way out of the lows.”

Personally, I feel that the “blame Caroline Wozniacki” talk has gone way too far. The second a golfer starts struggling — especially one in his mid-20s — people want to point the finger at a lack of focus. McIlroy won three of the final six tournaments on the PGA Tour down the stretch next season. Let’s at least give him until the end of the season.